Beware of common scams and protect yourself!
Be vigilant
Protect yourself against scammers.
Bank scams are a common way for criminals to gain access to personal and financial information of innocent people. Knowing what to look for and how to avoid scams is the best way for you to stay safe.
Some of the tactics that scammers employ include:
- Requesting customers personal information without providing proper context or justification.
- Asking OTP (One-Time Password) codes sent to your mobile phone
- Sending deceptive links via email, posing as legitimate financial inquiries, and asking for sensitive customer information or unauthorized money transfers.
- Luring individuals with false promises of jobs and lottery winnings, only to request money transfers into bank accounts.
- Deceptive schemes involving purported loan services.
Look out these common tactics that scammers use to trick people into giving up money or offering your personal data which are then used to access to your account.
If you encounter any suspicious requests or communications, please do not hesitate to reach out to uab bank through our verified channels. You can contact us via uab bank’s official Facebook Messenger (identified by the blue verification mark) or our Contact Center at 0 99 4000 5000 at any time.
Your financial safety is our top priority, and we are here to ensure your trust and money stay secure.
(i) Loan scams
Loan scammers typically pretend that they are banks or financial institutions and offer loan services under false pretence. Attractive interest rates and instant approvals are offered through social media or SMS. Many times, they refuse to directly answer phone calls and only answer enquiries through messaging services. Their intention is to steal money or personal data from victims.
How do they operate
- Typically, they open a social media page using the name of a bank or financial institution and make false offers of loans.
- They may send you a message offering you loans with attractive interest rates or easy approval.
- They pressurise their targets to act immediately and ignore the warning signs.
What you should do:
- Do not conduct the transaction or make payments over the internet.
- Call the bank up to check if the offer is legitimate.
- Always report the matter so that others in our community are also not scammed.
(ii) Scams with false bank emails
As digital transactions increase in volume globally, scammers with the intention to steal money or personal data from their victims have also been on the increase. Scammers sometimes try to impersonate the bank by sending false emails with malicious intent of getting payments or personal information or passwords.
What should you do?
- Always make sure to double-check the sender’s email address. The only legitimate domain we at uab bank Limited use is “@uab.com.mm.” If you see anything different, like “@uabbank.com,” that’s a big red flag.
- Don’t fall for their tricks! don’t do what they ask. Instead, get in touch with us right away to confirm the legitimacy of any suspicious communication.
- We want to emphasize that we never ask for your personal information or OTP codes through email. So, please don’t share your sensitive details.
(iii) Phishing Scams
With phishing, scammers use texts and emails to trick you into giving up personal information and banking credentials. The information they want includes passwords, date of birth, NRC numbers, Credit card details, account numbers and more. Their goal is to access your personal accounts, such as email, credit cards and bank accounts.
Phishing emails and texts often look as if they are sent from trusted companies, you may already know. Typically, phishing scams require you to click on a link and complete an action like confirming personal information.
What you should do for your account safety:
- Do not enter your credentials to login the unknown website.
- Do not open the clickable links in the email that seem suspicious.
- Do not use the devices of other people to login your bank account.
- Do your homework. Read and inspect everything. Whether it is an email, text or if it arrives in another form, always read the fine print. If an offer looks suspicious or too good to be true, it probably is a scam.
- Do not share personal information. With the correct information, scammers can access almost every aspect of your life. This includes financial and other accounts, as well as stealing your identity. Never share any sensitive information such as your account numbers, credit card numbers, passwords, OTP or CVV with anyone.
- Ensure that your devices are enabled automatic updates and installed with anti-virus software.
(iv) Imposter Scams
Another common bank scam is when someone pretends to be a bank staff. You receive a phone call from the imposter claiming that they need to confirm your personal information so that they can process the updating process in the system or whatsoever. The reality is that you will never receive a call from uab bank for sensitive information such as user ID, password, or OTP of any kind.
In some cases, the scammer also uses a fake account on social media using the copied pictures from genuine account of the business. On their timeline, they showcase the product pictures and information which are copied from original post and lure you with the generous discount or service. Once you expose your interest on it, they will deceive you to transfer advanced payment for the loan or service that you will never receive.
What you should do:
- Never trade or transact with any businesses which you cannot track down their identity through official website nor transfer money to the people you do not know.
- Never share the OTP sent to your phone via text message. It is sent as a result of an attempted login to your uab pay or other accounts.
(v) Employment Scams
Employment scams are another common way scammers try to deceive job seekers into giving money, divulging personal information and gain access to people’s financial accounts. The scammer promises guaranteed work in exchange for an up-front fee. They may also ask for bank account information so they can transfer the high commission payments to you. This is all a front to get your bank account information. Job scams often come through emails, but scammers also target people by phone and mail.
What you should do:
- Go directly to the company website and verify their existence.
- Protect your personal information and do not make transfer to the unreliable source.
(vi) Investment scam
An investment scam is when someone offers you a fake but often convincing opportunity to make an extraordinary return after you hand them over small amount of money for investment.
The other way this scam works is that you receive a phone call, SMS or email indicating that you have qualified for a special offer or you have won a lottery. Their goal is to get you to reveal your uabpay password and sometimes the OTP. They often play this off by saying that this is a way to verify that you qualify for the offer – no bank personnel will ask you for your password or OTP and if they do, then you will know that it is a scam.
They may also pressure you into making a rushed decision. This could be with a limited time offer, bonus, or discount if you sign up before a deadline. So, opportunity for high returns within small timeframe is certainly a red flag for your account safety.
Once the scammer has your information to access to your uab pay account or other accounts, they will withdraw your money as soon as possible. Unless you pay close attention to your daily bank transactions or notice the transaction alert that the bank sent to you, you may not notice the scam until much later.
What you should do:
- Always be alert with the offers that seems too good to be true and pressure claim.
- Daily check your statement so that the abnormal transaction can be tracked in time and required action can be performed.
- Do not share your personal information. With the correct information, scammers can access almost every aspect of your life. This includes financial and other accounts, as well as stealing your identity.
If you notice that your bank account is being hacked or you are a victim of a scam, please call to uab contact centre 09 9 4000 5000 and get support immediately.